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Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Walking Dead Recap: Season 4 Episode 14: "The Grove"

I love Paris and I love zombies. If you like at least one, you've come to the right place. Here's this week's recap and review of The Walking Dead, "The Grove", Season 4 Episode 14.

If it's not one child I want to slap on this show, it's another. Just when I was enjoying a break from Carl we get an episode with CrazyPants Lizzie.

Carol, Tyrese, Lizzie, Mika, and Judith are on their way to Ominus and stop off at a grove for a few days for a little R&R. They roast pecans, try to hunt for deer, and even get to use running water from a well. I understand the pull of Ominous - they could be reunited with the rest of the prison gang and they're curious as to what else is left in this desolate world. But you'd have a hard time pulling me away from clean, running water, that's all I'll say.

No worries, though. Lizzie goes and ruins it all for them. We find out she's the freakazoid who dissected the rat at the prison and fed the walkers at the fence, putting everyone's lives in danger. She had no problem killing people at the prison (like Tara's girlfriend, point-blank in the head) but she flips out whenever a walker dies. Girl has issues. And unfortunately, professional therapy is pretty much nonexistent in the ZA.

Carol honorably still tries to mother CrazyPants, but it's just not getting through her slappable skull. However, Carol and Tyrese think it's sunk in enough to leave the three girls alone while they go out hunting.

They return to see that Lizzie has KILLED MIKA in cold-blood, and shows no remorse because "she'll come back, you'll see." And she starts to say she was about to do the same to Judith. So it's clear we've got an "Of Mice and Men" situation on our hands. I remember reading that book in high school and was a bit slow on the the uptake, but by the last five pages I realized what George was going to do to Lennie and I bawled my eyes out.

So, even though I wanted to slap Lizzie this whole episode, I couldn't help but go soft when Carol took her out to the field and Lennied her. Props to Carol for doing what had to be done - Crazypants had already killed HER SISTER and endangered the lives of many others AND said straight up she'd do it again - but shooting a kid in the head? I honestly don't even think I could slap a kid, much as I enjoy saying so from the comfort of my couch.

As if Carol hasn't gone through enough, she decides to tell Tyrese the truth that she was the one who killed Karen and David. He's pissed (side note: he's showing more pain over the loss of Karen than of his own sister, who he believes is dead, but I blame that on the writers for trying to amp up the drama instead of being consistent) and Carol even hands him a gun and gives him permission to kill her (side note: that's a safe bet since he's a horrible shot, though it makes her look reasonable so well-played). But he forgives her, likely being enlightened by his "Of Mice and Men" literature lesson he witnessed earlier that day. In the ZA, people have to do things they wouldn't normally do, but if the intentions are right, then you can forgive. My high school English teacher would be so proud!

On yet another side note, our group saw the big cloud of smoke from Beth and Daryl's f-you-cabin-burning and there were even some bad-ass charred zombies coming out of the woods as a result. Cool! But Beth and Daryl are still stupid for doing that. One nice thing is that it confirms our characters are all pretty close. With only two more episodes left, I'm hoping we'll get a reunion soon!